Shloka 70

Kālajñāna (Knowledge of Time) and Mṛtyu-cihna (Signs of Death): Śiva’s Instruction to Umā

Devanagari script

प्रवाहेण दशाहेन तत्संस्थेन विपद्यते । त्रिंशद्धस्रप्रवाहेन पञ्चाहेन विपद्यते

Transliteration

pravāheṇa daśāhena tatsaṃsthena vipadyate | triṃśaddhasrapravāhena pañcāhena vipadyate

Translation

Durch einen ununterbrochenen Fluss vergeht es in zehn Tagen, wenn es in jenem Zustand gehalten wird; doch bei einem Strom von dreißigtausend (an Maß oder Kraft) vergeht es in fünf Tagen.

Word by Word

• प्रवाहेण: by/with a flow/stream
• प्रवाहेण: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रवाह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन (Singular)

• दशाहेन: by ten days (within ten days)
• दशाहेन: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: दशाह (प्रातिपदिक: दश + अहन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन (Singular)

• तत्: by that
• तत्: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन (Singular); विशेषण-रूपेण ‘संस्थेन’ इत्यस्य

• संस्थेन: by that condition/state (being so situated)
• संस्थेन: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: संस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन (Singular)

• विपद्यते: perishes / meets death
• विपद्यते: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + पद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद; अर्थे—‘नश्यति/म्रियते’

• त्रिंशत्: thirty
• त्रिंशत्: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रिंशत् (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययवत् संख्या (numeral used as qualifier); ‘सहस्रप्रवाहेन’ इत्यस्य विशेषणम्

• सहस्रप्रवाहेन: by a thousandfold flow (a flow of a thousand)
• सहस्रप्रवाहेन: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र + प्रवाह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन (Singular); षष्ठी-तत्पुरुषः (सहस्रस्य प्रवाहः)

• पञ्चाहेन: by five days (within five days)
• पञ्चाहेन: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पञ्चाह (प्रातिपदिक: पञ्च + अहन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/करण), एकवचन (Singular)

• विपद्यते: perishes / meets death
• विपद्यते: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + पद् (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन (Singular), आत्मनेपद

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Shaiva Theology

Tattva Level: pasha

Shiva Form: Kālāntaka

Characters & Entities

• Shiva

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in the Shiva Purana?

It underscores impermanence: when conditions intensify (a stronger ‘flow’), dissolution comes faster—prompting the seeker to turn from unstable worldly supports (pāśa) toward the stable refuge of Pati, Shiva.

How does this verse relate to the worship of the Linga or Saguna Shiva?

By highlighting how quickly conditioned things perish, the text implicitly directs devotion toward Shiva as the enduring reality; Linga-worship becomes the concrete (saguṇa) focus for realizing the timeless (nirguṇa) Lord beyond change.

What ritualistic or meditative practice is suggested here?

Cultivate urgency (saṃvega): steady japa of the Pañcākṣarī “Om Namaḥ Śivāya” and regular Linga-abhiṣeka as a disciplined remembrance that worldly states can ‘collapse’ swiftly.